Zheng’an (China) (AFP) – Zheng’an, a sleepy town in China’s rural Guizhou province may seem an unlikely guitar manufacture and export hub. With more than 144 guitar-related factories, though, the town manufactures one in every seven of the instrument sold worldwide. The result of Chinese government policy, which often directs regional economies into specific industries, Zheng’an has become dominated by the guitar, with sculptures, murals and even rubbish bins paying homage to the popular instrument. The initiative launched in 2012 and within 10 years around 87 home-grown brands had set up shop.
